The absolute highlight of our stay along the Costa Rican Caribbean coast had to be our boat tour in Tortuguero. This was a part of our package at the Evergreen Lodge. It is usually included in hotel stays too, so you’ll likely get one if you have booked. I really did not know what to bring or expect on this tour, so this blog post is for people in that mindset too! I absolutely loved my experience and I can’t wait to share it with you. Without further ado, here is all you need to know…
Boat Tour in Tortuguero – What to bring, see and expect
What to Bring
This is the question I get asked most when it comes to Costa Rica. I know that it definitely stressed me out when I was packing.
The weather in Costa Rica is unpredictable; one moment it is sunny and the next there is torrential rain. I would recommend bringing lots of suncream, jungle formula spray and a raincoat. The tours do not change with the weather so, if there is a lot of rain, you are going to get wet! With clothes, I would wear shorts (so your poncho covers your clothes) and flip-flops. That last one is weird but, if it rains, your shoes will get soaked and will not dry because of the humidity.
Your guides know where the animals are commonly seen. Plus, the hotels talk to each other so that all the tourists can see the main attractions. With this in mind though, I would bring a zoom lens if you are into your photography. On my Canon R7, we used a 100-400mm which did a good job. There was only one animal, a pesky macaw on top of a tree, that was out of the reach!
I’ve actually written a full post on what to pack for Costa Rica which you might find helpful!
What Should I Expect?
I had no idea what to expect on the boat tour. I thought that it would be similar to a safari and that I’d see everything I wanted to. In my head, there were crocodiles, toucans and jaguars along every stretch of river. That was completely wrong and if there is one big takeaway from Tortuguero, it is that wildlife is unpredictable.
If you want to see everything that the National Park has to offer you either need to be very lucky, or pay for extra tours. Even then, our guide Ivan had worked as a tour guide in the National Park for years and has still never seen a jaguar.
The boats all mostly stick to the same paths. Tortuguero has a main canal which seemingly goes on for miles when you first arrive. Most of the tour will be along this stretch, with the boat travelling slowly so that you can look out for birds and monkeys. Towards the end of the tour, the boat will then go deeper into the jungle. It was this latter part where I felt I saw more wildlife so make sure that your camera is ready for this.
Top things that you might see
A boat tour in Tortuguero is famed for the opportunity to see some of the most exciting wildlife in the country. During our two hour journey, we probably saw the majority of the animals that were on our list.
Howler monkeys are probably the most overt animals. They are really loud and are actually quite easy to spot along the banks. Similar to these are the spider monkeys. Instead of a jet black like the howlers, the spiders are a lovely ginger colour. I found these harder to spot, but our guide easily spied them.
The bird life is just incredible. Ahninga birds and heron species are definitely the most common birds and, unlike the UK, they are really vibrantly coloured. If you are lucky, you might even spot boat-billed herons, a nocturnal species which sleeps during the day.
The main attractions though have to be the macaws and toucans. The former are really loud and you hear them frequently. They are difficult to spot; I heard that they look like they are really struggling to fly, which helped me identify them. Toucans are some of my favourite animals but are quite shy. The keel-billed toucan is the most common. It sounds like a loud frog and is easily identifiable when it flies.
Lastly, the reptiles that you are likely to see are iguanas and crocodilians. Iguanas just sit in the trees and you will question how on Earth they managed to get to their spot. We saw lots of these but were really unlucky with caiman and crocodiles. We saw 2 small caiman and these are the more common out of the two. However, we saw no crocodiles. Our guides thought that it was due to the high water levels; you just never know what to expect.
How much should I pay?
Costa Rica is weirdly expensive. Tours deviated a lot on our trip and ranged from $25-70+ depending on hotel and location. I would say that a boat tour is a bit more expensive than other kinds, but it should not be excessive. Make sure that you check what is included, whether you have a guide and where they will take you. I would also advise going through the hotels to make sure you get an ethical trip.
Final Thoughts | Boat Tour in Tortuguero
The boat tour in Tortuguero was easily one of the best experiences that we had in Costa Rica. We saw so many different animals that were on our Costa Rican bucket list and really loved seeing all of the different plants. As mentioned before, we did this with the Evergreen Lodge who were just incredible.
I genuinely wish that I had done a second trip, if not a third. Just make sure that you wear sensible clothing, including flip flops if it rains, and top up on sun cream and mosquito spray. Seriously, they are massive here and bite pretty hard!
